Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-01-24

Two-thlrds of the distance of the south
west horizon from the zenith, the Urn O
the Water-Bearer, marked by four star
of the third and fourth magnitude, in tn,
form Of the letter Y, seems to pour
celestial stream of tiny stars in south
easterly direction. The center of the ]
is binary, and about one or two diane
tiers of the moon distant from the othe1
three stars. These may be regarded a.
the spout or handle of the urn, for slider
cal figures, not being designed by Van.
dyke, can sometimes be reversed with
out much detriment to the general out
line.
The shoulders and feet of Orion, the
best figure in celestial scenery, are salts.
factorily transpoSed by our antipodes, t.
save him the awkwardness of an inverted
| position in the southern hemisphere.
From the south horizon to nearly the
zenith is one OF the blankest strips in the
sDangled dome-an ungilded space where
distant suns are cOnspiculously absent
Midway on the east side is another heav-
emily stream, the river Eridanus, winding
from east to west, and lower down from
west to east, and then curving to the
south, the last angle being marked by an
oblOng figure of four stars of the fourth
magnitude, semi-hOrizontal,
Southeast, nearer to the horizon than
Si,ius, are several lesser lights, not dim
hut small, which complete the constella-
ton, glOritied By the unrivaled rays OF
the dog star.
THE DARK CONSTELLATION.
The earth's apparent path is strewn
with stars of the first, second and third
msgpitudes, with the exception of one
tract, where some faint stars, almost in
visible, alone mark the circuit These
were aptly called by the ancients "the
dark constellation" which it certainly is,
even on a dark night. Nevertheless,
there is faint glitter in the trapezium of
dim stars that gives hope of something
better and brighter.
An opera-glass turned eastward little
above the horizon will hring to view
myriad of golden orbs, clustering in the
form Of beehive, which the name Pr9-
sope signifies. The whole group is called
Cancer, where the midsummer sun ap-
peared to be about 1000 years ago. This
name is supposed 10 have arisen from the
fancied resemblance between the SUMS
apparent motion in this constellation and
the side movements of crab. This is
not as absurd as it first seems, if we con-
slider the sun as facing eastward, when,
having attained the highest altitude, the
southerly direction may be regarded as
ga superb piece of fancy iewelry," to
which Herschel compares one of the
southern nebule, is not an inappropriate
for "the dark constella-
tlon."
Serenely bright
From little stars which there their beams unite, |
And make one solid and continued light.
East of north the Great Bear seems to |
climb above the horizon, where an acute |
triangle marks his forepsw, and dim,
group form the ursine profile.
4 little east of north, but about midway
between the pole star and the horizon, is
Alpha in the Dragon, the pole star of the
past.
The earth's axis is slowly changing
inc, and 1000 years ago this unpreten-
ious star was probably the hope and
,uide of travellers by land and sea, when
he present pole star was unnoticed and
unknown.